Apparatus for waterproofing textile fabics.



PATENTED JAN. 13, 1903.

F. RUSHWORTH. APPARATUS FOR WATERPROOFING TEXTILE FABRICS.

APPLICATION IILBD APR. 22' 1902.

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No. 718,527.. PATENTED JAN. 13, 1903. P. RUSHWORTH.

APPARATUS FOR WATERPROOFING TEXTILE FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22, 1902.

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'No.718,527.- PATB'NTED JAN. 1 3,.190{

F. RUSHWORTH.

APPARATUS FOR WATERPROOFING TEXTILE FABRICS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 22' 1902. N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3- FlG.3.

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FINOH RUSHWORTH, OF BRADFORD, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR WATERPROOFING TEXTILE FABRICS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 718,527, dated January 13, 1903.

Application filed April 22, 1902.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FINOH RUsHwoRTH, a sub ect of the King of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at 41 Swaine street, Bradford,in

the county of York, England, have invented a certain new and useful Apparatusfor Waterproofing Textile Fabrics, (for which I have made applicationfor a patent in Great Britain, No. 19,656, bearing date October .2, 1901,) of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for waterproofing textile fabrics, as hereinafter described, with compositions made vup in the form of slabs which melt at a temperature.

below that which would damage the fabrics.

In employing waterproofing agent or substances in a solid or hard state it has been customary to reduce such waterproofing agent and apply it in the form of a coating by friction, and afterward to pass the coated fabric over heated cylinders in order to draw the said agent into the material; but this method is unsatisfactory, as the friction and subsequent heating of the coated fabric dries and hardens the same, and'thus renders it inca-' pable of again receiving moisture for shrinking purposes.

According to my invention I employ slabs of waterproofing agent, consisting of certain well-known substances of any desired size and shape. One or more of these slabs is or are suspended between suitable side stand; ards, and below or surrounding the said slab or slabs is provided a tubular frame, below which are mounted a pair of inwardly-rotating cylinders, running in frictional contact with a rotating brush, and in proximity to the under side of the brush is provided a hollow convex supporting-bed, over which the material to be treated is drawn. The tubular frame, cylinders, and supporting bed are heated by circulating steam, hot water, or other heating fluid through them, and, if desired,the brush also may be internally heated. The fabric is first prepared to receive the waterproofing agent by being mordanted in the usual way, and in this prepared state it is passed over the supporting-bed and beneath the rotating. brush, preferably in the same direction as that of the rotation of the latter, and on passing'heating fluid through the tubular frame the heat arising therefrom re- Serial No. 104,186. (No model.)

' duces the slab or slabs of Waterproofing agent and causes it to run down in liquid form'onto and between the heated inwardly-rotating cylinders, which distribute it over the surface of the brush and the latter brushes it into the prepared fabric in an even and efficient manner. The waterproofed fabric is then shrunk naturally by being placed in its moist and warm condition between layers of wet cloths "and laid up in folds for a time or by any other known shrinking operation.

In order that my invention may be clearly understood, I will proceed to describe the same with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which similar numbers of reference indicate corresponding parts in each of the figures.

Figure 1 is a transverse section of a machine or apparatus constructed according to my invention for waterproofing textile fabrics. Fig. 2 is a right-hand end elevation of the same machine, and Fig. 3 is a side or back elevation having the central portion thereof removed for the sake of convenience.

In the drawings, 1 1 represent the two end standards of the machine, which are held together at the required distance apart by means of corner cross-frames 2 2 2 2 and a central cross-frame 3. Upon the cross-frame 3 is lodated a hollow convex supporting-bed 4, running the full widthof the machine, and immediately above the said bed 4: is located a cylindrical brush 5, rotatably mounted on a shaft 6 in bearings 7 7, carried by adjustable end frames 8 8, the said brush 5 running almost the full width of the machine parallel with and preferably touching the supportingbed 1. Immediately above the cylindrical brush 5 is located a pair of hollow cylinders 9 9, rotatably mounted on hollow shafts 1O 10 in bearings 11 11, carried by adjustable end frames 12 12, the said cylinders 9 9 being of a length about equal to that of the brush 5, running parallel and in frictional contact with the latter and also in frictional contact with each other.

At the upper part of the standards 1 1 are provided vertical pillars 13 13 13 13, carrying a rectangular frame 14, upon which'latter are situated cross-bars 15 15, to which are suspended box-like casings 16 16 by means of hook connections 17 17, the said casings extending across the machine to any desired width and being provided with tapered bases 18 18, of wirework, to which latter pending wires 19 19 are attached at suitable intervals. Slabs 2O 20, of waterproofing agent, consisting of certain wellknown substances, are placed within the box-like casings 16 16, and below the pending wires 19 19 is located a wire frame 21, extending across the machine and being provided with pending wires 22 22 at suitable distances apart, which wires 22 22 are located immediately above the upper surfaces of the cylinders 9 9.

The machine is provided with an ordinary tension device 23, a guide-roller 24, carried in bearings 25, a guide-roller 26, carried in bearings 27, a drawing-roller 28, carried in bearings 29, and a drawing-roller 30, carried on a shaft 31 in bearings 32. Main drivingpulleys 33 are provided on one end of the brush-shaft 6, while the other end of the shaft 6 is provided with a pulley 34, carryinga cross-belt 35, which drives a pulley 36, mounted on the shaft 31 of the drawing-roller 30, the said shaft 31 being provided with another pulley 37, carrying a cross -belt 38, which drives a pulley 39, mounted on the shaft 10 of one of the cylinders 9, which latteris geared to the other cylinder 9 by spur-gearing 40, and the drawing-roller 28 is provided with a pulley 41, which is driven by a cross-belt 42 from a pulley 43, mounted on the drawingroller shaft 31.

Between the end standards 1 l pipes 44 44 44 are mounted across the machine, to which steam is supplied from any suitable source by way of a main supply-pipe 45, pipe 46, and connecting-pipe 47, in which latter is located a regulating supply valve or cock 48. Steam is also supplied to the hollow cylinders 9 9 from the main supply-pipe 45 by way of a pipe 49, connecting-pipe 50, and stufiingboxes 51 51, said pipe 49 being provided with a regulating valve or cock 52, while the hollow bed 4 is supplied with steam from the supply-pipe 45 by way of a pipe 53, in which is located a regulating valve or cook 54. The drawing-roller 28 is also internally heated by steam supplied by the main pipe 45 by way of a pipe 55, in which is located a regulating valve or cock 56, and the exhaust-steam from the heated parts passes out at the opposite side of the machine to that of the steam-inlet pipes by way of exit-pipes 57, which are provided with suitable regulating-cocks 58.

The cylinders 9 9, brush 5, and drawingrollers 28 and 30 are driven by the gearing described in the direction indicated by arrows in Fig. 1 of the drawings, and the speed of the said brush 5 is such that its surface travels at a greater speed than that of the drawing-rollers 28 and 30, and on the machine being started the various cocks are turned on, so as to admit steam to the pipes 44 44 44, cylinders 9 9, bed 4, and drawingroller 28 to the required amount.

The fabric 63 to be treated is first prepared to receive the waterproofing agent by being mordanted in the usual way, and in this prepared state it is passed through the tension 23, over the guide-roller 24, under the guideroller 26, over the heated convex supportingbed 4, beneath the brush 5, under the heated guide-roller 28, and over the drawing-roller 30. (See Fig. 1.) The heat arising from the pipes 44 44 44 has the efiect of reducing the waterproofing agent 20 contained in the boxlike casings 16 16, which agent runs down in liquid form and drops from the pending wires 19 19 onto and through the wire-frame 21 and down the pending wires 22 22 onto the heated inwardly-rotating cylinders 9 9, which distribute and transfer it to the rotating brush 5 over the entire surface thereof, and the latter brushes it into the prepared fabric 63, which is being drawn over the supporting-bed 4 in an even and elficient manner. The fabric 63 after being impregnated with waterproofing agent in the manner just described is shrunk naturally by being placed in its moist and warm condition between layers of wet cloths and laid up in folds for a time or by any other known shrinking operation.

The quantity of waterproofing agent supplied to the rotating brush 5 may be regulated at will to suit the quality of material to be treated by passing more or less steam through the pipes 44 44 44, and in the case of waterproofing a very light fabric I may employ only one of the waterproofing agent containing casings 16.

End plates 59 59, mounted on a cross-rail 60, are employed for confining the liquid agent to the cylinders 9 9, and after the required quantity of material has been passed through the machine steam is cut off by closing the various steam-cocks, and cold water is passed through the heated parts by Way of water-supply pipes 61, provided with suitable regulating-cocks 62, whereby the said parts are quickly cooled to arrest the flow of the waterproofing agent, the waste water passing out through the exhaust or exit pipes 57.

By employing the machine in the above-described manner, the fabrics are rendered thoroughly and permanent-1y impervious to water, and this without injuring the fabrics or in any way destroying the handle or quality thereof.

What I claim as myinvention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In an apparatus for waterproofing textile fabrics, the combination of a supportingbed over which the fabric is drawn, a rotating brush runningin contact with the passing fabric, a pair of inwardly-rotating cylinders running in frictional contact with the brush and also in frictional contact with each other, and means for reducing a slab or slabs of solid or hard waterproofing agent and conducting the said reduced agent onto the inwardly-rotating cylinders, substantially as set forth.

2..In a machine for waterproofing textile fabrics, the combination with the standards 1, 1, and their cross-frames 2, 2, 2, 2, and 3, of a convex supporting-bed 4 over which the fabric is drawn, a rotating brush 5 runningin contact with the passing fabric,a pair of inwardlyrotating cylinders 9, 9, running in frictional contact with the brush 5 and alsoin frictional contact with each other, a frame 14 carrying box-like casings 16, 16,containing slabs 20, 20, of waterproofing agent in the solid or hard state, heated pipes 44, 44, 44, for reducing the said agent, and means for conducting the reduced agent onto the inwardly-rotatingcylinders 9, 9, substantially as set forth.

3. In a machine for waterproofing textile fabrics, the combination with the standards 1, 1, and their cross-frames 2, 2, 2, 2, and 3, of a hollow convex supporting-bed 4 and means for supplying heating fluid thereto, mechanism for drawing and guiding the fabric over the said supporting-bed 4, a rotating brush 5 running in contact with the passing fabric, a

pair of hollow inwardly-rotating cylinders 9, 9,and means for supplying heating fluid thereto, said cylinders 9, 9, running in frictional contact with the brush 5 and also in frictional contact with each other, a frame 14 carrying V box-like casings 16, 16, containing slabs 20, 20,

of waterproofing agent in the solid or hard state, said casings 16, 16, having tapered bases 18, 18 of wirework providedwith pending wires 19, 19, a wire frame 21 provided with pending wires 22, 22, pipes 44, 44, 44, and means for supplying heating fluid thereto, end plates 59, 59 in connection with the cylinders 9, 9, and means for actuating the parts, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

FINCl-I RUSHWORTH. Witnesses:

JOHN J OWETT, F. W. BARRAOLOUGH. 

